(Reuters) -TJX Cos Inc missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly sales on Wednesday, hurt by temporary store closures and fewer customers visiting its outlets due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shares of the company, which owns T.J. Maxx, fell about 7% to $60.40 in premarket trading.
The pandemic-triggered restrictions in Europe and Canada due to the fast-spreading Omicron variant hit TJX’s sales growth, although the company said its fourth-quarter sales were trending higher before the surge in Omicron cases.
The company’s net sales rose to $13.85 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 29, from $10.94 billion a year earlier. That missed analysts’ estimates of $14.22 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.
Net income of the HomeGoods owner rose to $940.2 million, or 78 cents per share, from $325.5 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)